Thunder: A new story, hope everybody likes it. Enjoy!Oh and by the way, the old poll is closed do I'll open a new one, in case anyone's interested...

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King and I don't own the masked boy's idea (as in, the boy wearing the mask), it was inspired by willow of fire's story Yoh's Guardian, thank you very much for allowing me to use it!

Chapter 1

Prince Of Venice

Yoh was running through the final round of Anna's new training program. It was still new, about a month ago, and she had picked a rather weird course for him to run in, it was in the woods, a place she knew was Yoh's favorite. Yoh shrugged the matter off the first few days, thinking that maybe she figured he'd function better in a place less inhabited by people that he might stop and talk to. He liked it at first, that is, until the day before yesterday.

He found out that a group of shamans live near the outskirts of the woods, where Anna had made him run, and they don't seem to be the friendly type. He also found out that they can be dangerous, their spirits were ferocious dragons and they weren't afraid to use them. Yoh winced as he touched his still healing shoulder; it was a warning, a warning that if he ever trespassed on their land again, it would be worse than just a scratch as they had called it.

He had tried to convince Anna to change the new course ever since, but all she had said was "Good, now you get to train and fight without me needing to worry." Yoh really wanted to beg more but when Anna says something, it's done, finished and with no space to negotiate. So…he simply had to face the facts and…endure. Yoh's shoulders sagged as he thought like that; it wasn't fair, neither that team would listen to him nor would his own fiancé.

It was in the afternoon, the sky a mixture of orange, pink and light red colors, signaling that the sun will set very soon. He had to hurry now, or else Anna would be angry about a late dinner. He ran faster and when he reached that team's land he sped up, not wanting to confront them again, but he wasn't fast enough.

A strong gust of wind came and nearly swooped him off his feet; he staggered a bit until he found his balance and watched as the great creature descended from the sky, keeping his arm over his eyes to lessen the wind from hitting his face. The great black dragon flapped its wings to gain a steady landing and then slowly it stood right before Yoh, snorting warm, nearly burning air at his face. Then it slowly knelt down into a lying position.

Its neck alone must've been about three meters in length and it's body seemed to be shorter, about two meters and a half while the tail seemed to be almost as long as the neck if not a bit longer. Its wings were at least two meters in length, wide and apparently very strong. Each foot had three great, big, black, sharp talons. The head held strong looking horns and the teeth in its mouth were huge and sharp. There were four red scales on its forehead, forming a red diamond that stuck out in the midst of all the other dark black scales. It had blue eyes, as dark as the sea at night, the pupils were naturally serpent-like and would cause anyone fear.

Its rider soon slid down his dragon's shoulder and, like his dragon, would terrify anyone who looked at him. He was tall; his face held an amused, mischievous smile and his differently colored eyes were gleaming with joy. One was a dark turquoise while the other was a light blue color. His hair was a very dark, ruffled black, matching the scales of his dragon; it was a bit longer than Yoh's hair, a tiny bit beneath his neck. His clothes were of a weird style, a black shirt and pants. It was similar to noble clothes in a way, and yet it seemed different, especially with everything decorated and lined with weird red writings. He had a white mask on that had a long, beak-like nose. He also wore a brim hat. In Yoh's opinion, he was missing a cape.

Yoh stared at him blankly as he walked closer, he hadn't told Yoh his name, just that he was the leader; he didn't even mention the team's name. Yoh kept firm as the dragon sniffed around him and eyed him with stormy serpent eyes. The man was now a couple of steps away from Yoh, the dragon circling them from above with its neck.

"It seems that someone didn't learn his lesson, did you bambino?" The man said with a soft, low, almost gentle Italian accented voice. Not suiting his appearance at all, he seemed to be a man with many manners, but refused to use them. Yoh stood firm as he stared into the man's eyes, the tip of his long nosed mask millimeters away from Yoh's face. They stood there silently for quite a while then the man broke the silence.

"What's your name bambino?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yoh Asakura." Yoh introduced himself with a gentle, polite tone. The masked man nodded at him and dropped his arms to his side.

"Asakura…you must be the younger twin…the little leggendario hero who rid the world of the greatest evil." Yoh gulped at his change of tone. He didn't like where this was going.

"Let me tell you, Yoh, I don't like people who do bad things to their family." He said calmly and slowly. His words alarmed Yoh and he immediately went on the defensive side.

"Th-that's not true…I was forced to and at that moment it just-" He stuttered but then Amidamaru appeared in front of him. He glared at the masked man dangerously with his hand ready on his sword's hilt. The man gave a small, gentle laugh, but then his eyes grew serious.

"Well, you have much to learn about our squadra, Yoh. Let me introduce myself." He lifted his hand and placed it on his hat with an amused, gentle grin. Amidamaru moved to Yoh's side, still weary.

"Adrian, prince of Venice and direct discendente of Venice's first doge Ursus Ipato. As well as the captain of Team Artiglio." He said as he took his hat off and bowed. "At your service." He finished as he straightened, slightly tipping his hat back on and bowing his head politely, the amused smile still plastered on his face.

"P-Prince?" Yoh exclaimed in surprise. It all seemed weird and out of place, because a man acting as the gentleman he is wouldn't possibly be this evil…but Yoh was never one to judge people by appearance….and he really needed a cape.

"Perdonami…but I must ask you to leave our area of land and never come again. We came and settled here since before the incidente with your brother, and we hate trasgressori. We let it go the first few weeks, but we cannot tolerate it anymore." He said with mild anger.

As for Yoh… he had his head slightly tilted to the right and his eyebrows furrowed in deep thought, eyes very far away from the problem at hand. Yes, a nice long cape, red from the inside and black from the outside…and he'd clutch it with one hand and use it like a super villain, hiding half his face behind it and laughing that evil laugh…and his weird mask would be perfect for that too! And it would flutter nicely when he flies or slides down the back of his dragon. He'd be your perfect everyday super villain!...I wonder what we have for dinner, I'm hungry…oh wait! I have to cook dinner, that's great! I can cook whatever I like! Or no, I have to cook what Anna likes….hmm…what does Anna like that I like too? ... I want to cry…

Suddenly the sound of snapping fingers and someone calling his name brought him back to reality. He shook his head slightly and looked around. Amidamaru was the one calling his name and Adrian was crouched in front of him, snapping his fingers in front of his eyes.

"Is he always like this?" Adrian asked, looking at Amidamaru.

"Unfortunately, yes." Amidamaru answered and couldn't help but smile at his master's carefree attitude.

"Huh? What?" Yoh whispered to himself and looked around some more, even the vicious looking dragon had a tinge of surprise and confusion in its eyes. Adrian noticed Yoh's gaze on his dragon and smirked as he got up and walked to it.

"This here is ruby." He said as he stroked the female dragon's head, who purred like mad at the touch. Yoh smiled a tiny smile, even if he claimed that he was evil, he was still gentle. At least that's what he thought before Adrian turned to him with an evil smile.

"Oh and I'd like to add one more thing, she hates intrusi." Adrian told Yoh with a grin. Yoh gulped and stepped back as the dragon opened its huge jaws and roared and ear piercing roar.

"Now I'll give you just today. If you come back tomorrow then my little Ruby will have a descent dinner, capito?" Yoh slowly nodded and continued on his way, he had to convince Anna somehow or it will cost him his life!

Thunder: Ooookaay, so the first chapter was a bit…stuffed. Sorry about that, but I hope you liked it. By the way….if you think the Italian is too much, please tell me so that I can erase it…or lessen it…please tell me, okay?

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